London's Phonica Records calls upon new talent Midland for its fifth 12" release, a four track EP that also includes a remix from Dexter. The Leeds-based producer is set to blow up in 2010, having announced his arrival last month with the Your Words Matter 12" on Aus Music, a collaboration with pal Ramadanman.
Play The Game begins moodily, Midland setting the scene with deep dub-chords before letting rip with a beautifully controlled breakbeat and a warm, insistent bassline. When the doleful string-pads arrive you know you're dealing with an anthem, and the intensity continues to rise as yearning, ethereal vocal snippets a la Burial, Pangaea or Joy Orbison skirt of the rhythm's surface. The track is a masterclass in building tension, with a succession of nail-biting builds giving way to subtle but devastating drops, and in this Midland shows uncommon maturity for such a young producer.
On the remix front we find Holland's one and only Dexter. Fresh from Redbox on Steffis Dolly imprint, Dexter completely reinvents Midland's Play The Game, turning out a finished product that really doesn't sound like anything else out there right now. Driven by a warped, distorted bassline that recalls the hoover sound of 90s Belgium and Kevin Saunderson in his pomp, teamed with dramatic strings, old-school percussion and positively oceanic breakdowns, it's big-room, electro-inflected techno of the highest order.
Leitmotif finds Midland exploring an even deeper techno style, strengthening the groove with spectral FX and panning, dubbed-out percussion, and then scything it in half with a buzzing, trance-inducing bassline - this one has 'secret weapon' written all over it, primed for the club but with a pleasingly introspective quality as well. 'Head Down' continues Midland's penchant for melodic, echo-drenched chords and disembodied vocal textures, this time riding an irresistibly skippy 4/4 rhythm. With the release of this EP Midland is no longer up-and-coming - he's very much arrived.